The Founder's Cat (or, in which Harry becomes the school horror story)
by UnorthodoxDreamer
Summary: Harry, after being left behind as his friends move on from the war, finds himself stronger than ever and cursing his so called 'friends' for leaving him all alone on New Year's Eve (not even an invitation!). The time magic of the new year decides to help him out, giving him the one thing he longed for most. Love.
1. Prolouge

As the final battle ended, and the wizarding world regrew itself stronger than ever before, one Harry James Potter was alone.

His friends had moved on. Ron and Hermione, Neville and Luna, Dean and Ginny, Remus and Tonks, Bill and Fluer, it seemed like everyone had _someone_. Everyone but Harry, that is. Harry was truly happy for his friends, but in between running from the media, rebuilding Hogwarts, and hiding from the general public, Harry had been left behind.

What's worse is that no one seemed to notice.

They all came by every now and then for dinner, they all sent letters and invitations, they all acted the part of the perfect friend, but never once did they ever talk to 'Harry'. They talked to 'Potter' or 'Harrison', but never did they _ever_ talk to Harry. Eventually they started talking to the media, handing out gossip and speculation. They gave out his address, they told on his love/sex life (absolutely none), and betrayed his trust within the first three months after the war.

But that wasn't the worst of it. By month four, Harry had a full scale investigation of all of his vaults going after overhearing Molly, Ron, and Ginny discussing how to get more money out of him. Ginny would break up with Dean, nab Harry, marry him, steal his money, and leave him, according to the ever-so-good strategist Ron. He found that Dumbledore had been stealing from the Potter and Black vaults since before he knew of the wizarding world. Ron was being paid to be his friend. Hermione was too, but she only kept the money because she didn't know how to give it back. She was only in it for the rare books, apparently. It really did explain a lot.

It helped that the other Weasley's were appalled with their matriarch and youngest siblings. But the damage was done, and Harry had no trust left to give. His views of his mentor, his friends, the _world_, had changed, and there was no going back.

He locked himself in his various properties, flooing between them whenever he felt the need. He blocked his floo from anything outside his own network and very rarely went outside his wards. He still received letters and the like, and still communicated with others, but he never left his many warded properties.

At least, that's what he liked them to think. In reality, he spent a few years exploring the world. From India to America, China to Australia. He went everywhere he could, learned arcane and ancient magic, got himself a proper mage focus, learned runes and arthrimancy, picked up a ton of languages, became a honorary shaman, discovered some odd talents (extremely good with most crafts, natural speed reader and legilimens, good with most animals and can learn most animal languages, and very adaptable magic), and completed his N.E. and T.O.A.D.S (Totally Outrageous Dueling Scores).

He was satisfied with himself. He made a name for himself as the number one guy for arcane and ancient magics. He was an inventor of the most useful new magic in decades, a Runes Master, and a Dueling champion in many other countries. He'd even become and animagus along the way. He was a magical breed of cat that could go from 'House Cat' to 'Panther' at will and was renowned for its ability to bend shadows to their will. They were extremely rare, classified as Dark and didn't have a name past its general classification of 'Feline elemental shape-shifter'.

Even satisfied as he was, Harry was still rather lonely.

At the respectable(ish) age of 27, he hadn't ever had a boyfriend or girlfriend (Cho Chang doesn't count) and was very much a virgin. He didn't have any close friends and the only people who even talked to him anymore were various pen-pals from other countries.

And thus came to be his state of mind as he lounged in a tree on his property as his house cat form (dubbed 'Noctus' by himself) all alone on New Year's Day.

As he sat and cursed his 'friends' for moving on without him, forgetting him (they had dropped all communication with him by month two), and generally using him, the time magic that swept the world at the start of a new year pitied him and his past and sent him to the one place it felt he could get what he wished. Simple love and affection.

And thus, Harry Potter became a time-traveler.


	2. Chapter 1: The Founder's Cat

_**Alright, so this chapter sucks spectacularly, and I didn't have a beta or anything, so it's riddled with mistakes and it's just kind of all over the place right now. I was feeling guilty and I wanted to do something for y'all, so I got you a chapter of Founder's Cat. I've got a couple of times in the week where I can write undisturbed, so I'll probably get a chapter or two of **__something__** at the very least out every week. I'll probably update A Little Black Book next, but don't quote me on that. Anyway, happy reading!**__

With a soft feline whine, Harry Potter took it upon himself to wake. The first thing he noticed was the absurd amount of people milling about, specifically magical people. The next thing he noticed was the four absurdly powerful people standing just in front of him. When he finally opened his eyes, however, he saw home. But that's impossible, isn't it? Hogwarts was still under reconstruction to his (rather vast, actually) knowledge. When he took in the people, he saw that, while still similar, their robes were of a much older make, and the four absurdly powerful wizards in front of him bore a startling resemblance to the tapestry he'd found that had the four founders on it.

_So I'm in cat form, back in the founder's time, and surrounded by wizards and witches. Oh, what to do, what to do. _

So, with considerable grace and dignity, Harry let out a pitiful meow. All of the witches immediately let out simultaneous 'Awwwww's. It was good to know that somethings never changed. The rather busty witch in yellow and black kneeled down in front of him. She had earthy brown hair, dark brown eyes and deceptively strong arms. Harry assumed that this was Helga, but you never know. As she cautiously extended her hand to him, Harry got a big whiff of earth and plums. Definitely Helga, then. He let her pet him for a minute, softly cooing at him, before one of the students piped up.

"Where did it come from, Madam Hufflepuff?"

Ah, a good question. Where did he come from indeed? Last he remembered he was being miserable and alone on New Year's Day, then suddenly, poof! Here he was in the founder's era, still in his house cat form, being petted by Helga Hufflepuff herself, and probably in shock. The reality could set in later, He decided. Miss Helga has magical hands. _

As the students and the other three founders pondered over where the cat came from, Salazar Slytherin was pondering something completely different. He and Godric were coming up on their 5th anniversary soon, and he'd still not completed his gift for the other man. He knew what he was doing, but it was taking too much time. He'd have to get a preemptive gift fir him then, to sooth any feathers that would be ruffled.

A loud yowl exploded from the cat and Godric's deep, booming voice could be heard yelling, "Oh, can we keep him, please Salazar?"

Well, he had his preemptive gift at the very least.

Slytherin looked over at Gryffindor, who was holding the cat and not being at all fazed by the numerous scratches he was getting, before sighing and giving in. After all, it was only a cat.

He nodded once, and the crowd set to celebrating. The school seemed to have a new pet.

Inwardly, Harry was panicking. He was being made a pet! Well, that wasn't so bad, he assumed, but he was in the past! He should be getting home or something! That really wasn't why he was panicking though. He was really scared, because this seemed a good deal to him. Really, He'd have back the first and only home he'd ever had, he'd be fed and loved by the students and staff, he knew Hogwarts well enough that he was sure he'd be able to have some time in his human form, and he'd be able to observe history as it happened and find out what _really_ caused the founders to split; he didn't believe the 'Slytherin was evil and hated muggleborns' crap at all. And yes, he had developed into quite the history buff, thank you for noticing. It tends to happen when you study arcane and ancient magic.

So, while it did seem a good deal, it scared Harry something fierce. Was he really so ready to give up his house, his life work, and his various acquaintances just like that? Well, when you put it that way, it really did seem like a good deal. No one was really going to miss him all that much, and he always kept a copy of his noted on him, the same way he did most of his stuff (some habits never die), so he wasn't really missing anything either.

Yes, he decided, he could be the founder's cat.


End file.
